Age, BMI, and inflammation: Associations with emotion recognition
Age, BMI, and inflammation: Associations with emotion recognition
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DOI：
10.1016/j.physbeh.2021.113324
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发表时间：
2021-01-30
影响因子：
2.9
通讯作者：
Bosch, Jos A.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Balter, Leonie J. T.;Raymond, Jane E.;Bosch, Jos A.
实验研究表明，炎症损害了解释另一个人的精神状态的能力，即心理理论（ToM）。目前的研究试图在与低度炎症升高相关的状态中进行概念性复制，即，高体重和高龄。九十岁的年轻人（男性= 26.3岁，SD = 4.1）或以上（M = 70.7岁，SD = 4.0）体重指数（BMI）正常的受试者（M = 22.4，SD = 2.2）或高BMI（M = 33.1，SD = 3.8）完成了阅读眼睛中的心灵测试（RMET）以评估情绪识别。血浆白细胞介素-6（IL-6）水平的测定是低度炎症的指标，正如预期的那样，IL-6水平的升高与BMI的增加有关，但与年龄的增加无关。IL-6与较差的任务表现相关，独立于潜在的人口统计学和健康混杂因素（例如，性别、教育、吸烟状况、酒精摄入、医疗状况和药物摄入）。分析还揭示了一种相互作用，即具有高BMI的年轻人与正常BMI的同龄人相比表现出更差的RMET表现，而在老年人中发现了相反的模式。目前的观察性研究复制了实验结果，表明轻度炎症升高与推断他人精神状态的能力降低相关。这些发现表明，（长期）低度炎症的自然条件也可能改变情绪识别。
Experimental studies show that inflammation impairs the ability to interpret the mental state of another person, denoted theory of mind (ToM). The current study attempted a conceptual replication in states associated with elevated low-grade inflammation, i.e., high body weight and advanced age.Ninety young (M = 26.3 years, SD = 4.1) or older (M = 70.7 years, SD = 4.0) participants with either a normal body mass index (BMI) (M = 22.4, SD = 2.2) or high BMI (M = 33.1, SD = 3.8) completed the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) to assess emotion recognition. Plasma interleukin-6 (IL-6) level was measured to index low-grade inflammation.As anticipated, elevated IL-6 levels were found with higher BMI, although not with increased age. IL-6 was associated with poorer task performance, independent of potential demographic and health confounders (e.g., sex, education, smoking status, alcohol intake, presence of medical conditions, and medication intake). Analyses also revealed an interaction whereby young individuals with a high BMI showed worse RMET performance compared to their normal BMI counterparts, whereas the opposite pattern was found in older individuals.The present observational study replicated experimental results showing that elevated low-grade inflammation is correlated with a lower ability to infer the mental states of others. These findings suggest that also naturalistic conditions of (protracted) low-grade inflammation may alter emotion recognition.